B.S.'ing a whole lot of nothing and a little bit of everything

Tag Archives: WeeklyPoetryPick

Bucky Sinister was the pseudonym, of David Lerner. He was a renegade poet active in both the New York and San Francisco. He embraced the bohemian life and published a large number of articles in a variety of publications. He cofounded Zeitgeist Press which focused on publishing poets involved in the Babar Cafe. Affectionately known as the T.S. Elliot of the underground.

I Was With Her Long Enough To Change Brands of Cigarettes

We had split a bottle of wine and a pint of rumbefore we went into the fair.It started with a kiss on the ferris wheel.I didn’t know that actually happened until then.One of my favorite days of all time…

Six months laterI gave her money that she referred to as “fetus money.”We were long over as a romantic couple.That day she listed why she hated me.

I had told her that I was sorry and I said so againbut those words can’t take away a clumsy fuck.

The way she talked to meit sounded like her mistakesnever hurt anyone but herself.My mistakes have bad aimand always seem to hit those near me.

This work oozes with the sarcastic wit of a failed relationship. It shows the rapid decline of infatuation with a candor often left out most writings. A cocktail mixing sinister dark imagery and profanity with a self-deprecating humor. The above poem makes me wish that much more of Bucky Sinister’s poetry was collected and published before his death. Several of his works are featured in The Outlaw Bible Of American Poetry. If beat poetry in the style of Ginsberg and Pablo Neruda are your thing, you will love his writings.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.

Susan Firer is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she teaches women’s studies and creative writing. She has published six books of poetry and has been honored by her home city with the poet laureate. Utilizing a vivacious and imaginative writing style she builds truly memorable poems. You can view a sample of her works here.

The Transit of Venus

The poppies start as aliensend as husbands, a pauseof light, a dull scatter.Transports dandelion clouds.Venus passes between sun &earth. Exceedingly rare, Transit,have you noticed how closethe ode & elegy are?(In the United States someonedies every sixteen seconds!)Husband, Supermoon, Venuscome & go. Death says thereis no you at the end of weather.“Among the rarest of all predictableastronomical . . .” Husbandpresented me. The weathermansays we are locked in the clouds.

The above is a great piece from Firer’s Transit of Venus. I love this poem, the way in which it connects all aspects of life so neatly. Successfully swirling wondrous mysteries and cosmic imagery into an elegant eighteen-line poem. The final lines, in particular, resonated with me most of all. I will own this book, based solely on this poem and I hope that this writer continues to craft excellent verses for many years to come.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.

Jim Morrison is a rock and roll icon. His dynamic songwriting and piercing vocals helped propel The Doors to the legendary status they enjoy amongst music lovers. Easily one of the greatest frontmen of all time, Morrison’s charismatic way with words is something to behold. His collections of writings and poems are compelling and moving. I’d highly recommend any of them to fans of his music or just fans of surrealistic poetry, these are for you. There are a few examples of his poems on the following link.

Power

I can make the earth stop in

its tracks. I made the

blue cars go away.

I can make myself invisible or small.

I can become gigantic & reach the

farthest things. I can change

the course of nature.

I can place myself anywhere in

space or time.

I can summon the dead.

I can perceive events on other worlds,

in my deepest inner mind,

& in the minds of others.

I can

I am

The above is from Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison. While some have claimed this book is inaccessible, I never found it as such. I enjoyed this poem and the vast journey the reader is taken upon with it. The vastness and mental imagery are excellent and this could easily have a been a portion of a song. I found the transitions well done and you sort of waft through the entire piece until arriving at the end. All in all, this is a great bit of writing by an incredible writer. Truly Jim Morrison’s verses are some of the humanities’ finest.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.

Saul Williams is a force of nature. A prolific and prophetic poet who emerged onto the slam poetry scene in the late nineties. He was the star of the films Slam and Today, was the lead in the Broadway musical Holler If you Hear Me, has released five records and six books of poetry. His spoken word performances are some of the most powerful that I have ever witnessed and I highly suggest you enjoy more of his work here.

She

We sleepIn the same houseBut it is weWho have aLong distance relationship

To aimIs to take oneself too seriouslyBy focusing without instead of withinre arrange and re memberAim…I amThe right letters are thereIt’s the wrong composition…

The above excerpt from Saul’s slam masterpiece She. This is some of my favorite writing of all time. He is one of the few authors who can still send a shiver down my spine with every time I read his work. This poem explores the plethora of thoughts, emotions and feeling experienced during the relationship with the mother of his son. With vivacious and poignant imagery he shows how two people sometimes no longer fit together. This is one of his finest and if you enjoyed the above sample, I hope you will seek out his other work. There is truly a plethora of greatness authored by Saul Williams.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.

Attila The Stockbroker is my absolute favorite poet of all time. A punk poet and folk singer who has written seven books of poetry released forty albums and performed over three thousand concerts. He has toured nonstop for thirty-five years and has maintained a DIY attitude his entire career. Arguments Yard, his autobiography came out last year and if you need some sharp-tongued, high energy social surrealist poetry in your life I highly suggest you check out his work here.

USE OF ENGLISH The phrase ‘politically correct’is not at all what you’d expect.But how has it been hijacked so?I’m going to tell you, ‘cos I know. You’d think it should mean kind and smartRadical and stout of heartA way of living decently.Well, so it did, till recently.And then some cringing, nerdy divsSweaty, misogynistic spivsSad, halitosis-ridden hacksall wearing lager-stained old macswith spots and pustules and split endsand absolutely zero friends(Yes, living, breathing running sores:The right wing press’s abject whores)Were all told, by their corporate chiefsTo rubbish decent folks’ beliefsTo label with the phrase ‘P.C’All that makes sense to you and meAnd write off our progressive past.Their articles came thick and fastThe editors gladly received themand loads of idiots believed them.You’ll find that most who use the termWill only do so to affirmSad, bigoted, outdated viewsthey’ve swallowed via the Murdoch news.

I giggled aloud whilst reading this poem for the first time. The line hovered between linguistic elegance and hateful bile is breathtaking. Attila’s use of a simple rhyme scheme adds a bit of irony and taste that wouldn’t be present if this work was written in free verse. He cleanly states his views and challenges the reader to step above what is socially acceptable. Very on point, Attila drives his point home in his classic style. If you enjoyed the above, I highly suggest delving deeper into his works.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.